Surfacing material and method of forming same



Sept. 5, 1933. J. c. PEGRAM 1,925,460

SURFACING MATERIAL AND METHOD OF FORMING SAME Filed Sept. 15, 1950 INVENTOR t/A M155 C. PZGRAM ATTORNEYS Patented Sept.5,19l :3 a I I 1 925 4 0,

SURFACING MATERIAL AND METHOD: OF

FORMING SAME James C. Pegram, Alton, Ill. assignor of onehalf to William 0. Luly, Alton, 111.

Application September 13, 1930 Serial No. 481,606

Claims. (Cl. 18-59) This invention relates to improvements in surnecessarily exceed one-third of the cost of comfacing material and methods of forming same, parable coverings installed under the heretoand more particularly to a surface covering of a fore prevailing methods. flexible nature adapted particularly for use in Yet another object of the invention is attained 5 covering floors and like surfaces. The example in a more durable surface covering of such presently to be described consists of one applicaphysical characteristics that cracking and like tion of the principles of the invention to the constructural faults prevalent in existing concretestruction of a tile flooring. laid floors, are practically eliminated.

In the laying of tile floors according to the A still further object of the invention is at- 10 prevailing practice, a concrete base or foundation, tained in the provision of an improved method 65 usually of a depth of four to six inches, is regarded of manufacture of a flexible flooring material, as necessary as a foundation structure for the Which may be distributed and sold in the form tile surface proper. After the concrete base or of panels, slabs or sheets, and which may be apslab has been allowed sufiicient time in which plied in practically all cases without the use of to set, a cement mud or slush is provided on a separate subjacent cushion, foundation or Q the top of the slab, into which the tile units are binder. I set and leveled. The construction is completed Yet another object of the invention consists in upon permitting the cement mixture last applied certain improvements in a method or process of to harden and hold the tile in place, after which manufacturing a surfacing material which conthe tile surface itself may be polished and any duces to economy, homogeneity, flexibility, areapaper or foreign substance removed therefrom. sonable degree of elasticity, and complete re- It will appear obvious that the use of concrete sistance to any action of water. on a building floor to a depth of several inches, Further objects and advantages of the invenadds considerably to the loading of the floor; in tion will appear as the description proceeds, and all cases it is necessary that the floor be especially from the accompanying drawing illustrating one Q constructed in the first instance, or afterwards product, constructed according to the presently braced, to withstand this dead load. If the tile preferred method. In the drawing: floor be applied to an old building, it is necessary Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation in perspective either to drop the floor level at great expense, a of a sheet of flooring material constructed accorddistance equivalent to the total depth of the slabs ing to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a ver- 5 and tile, say four to six inches, or else to suffer tical section through. an inverted sheet of the a reduction in available head room as a consematerial in a mold employed in manufacturing quence of the installation of the tile floor. same. r The present invention is directed to a surfacing Referring now 'by reference characters to the 3* material and method of forming same, such that structure of the example described, the surface 9 the difficulties above enumerated are obviated, ofthe structure consists of a normally exposed and the time, expense and inconvenince of tile layer of wearing material, shown in the present installation are minimized. instance as consisting of units. of tile 3. The Inaccordance with the preceding remarks, an surfacing material may, however, consist of any object of the present invention may be stated as suitable wearing product, which may be supplied 95 the provision of a tile flooring, resulting from a either in sheet or slab form, or as individual units, novel method of manufacture, which will ininias illustrated. v Where separate "units are em-. mize the additional loading incident to the use ployed, they are by preference marginally spaced of a stone-like surfacing material. from each other, substantially uniformly, except A further object is attained by the product as the spaces indicated at 4 are filled with a 9 and method hereinafter described, in the provibinding or cementitious material hereinafter desion of a stone-like surfacing which may be apscribed. 'Disposed immediately below, and closely plied completely to a room of usual size, in a few adhering to the tile units 3, is a layer of a some-' hours time, instead of requiring from two to what flexible elastic material, indicated at 5, and three weeks, as under the prevailing practice. consisting by preference of an asphalt cement, A still further object of the invention is to effect the composition of which is hereinafter more a reduction in material cost of a surfacing prodfully described in connection with the manufacuct, as well as the labor cost presently incident ture of the product. As will best appear from Fig. thereto, to an extent that the total outlay for 2, the layer 5 of cementitious material is caused 11 0 flooring, for example of the type noted, does not to extend between the individual tile units 3, as

' and shown in Fig. 2 as occupied by a portion of gripped or engaged by the cementing material.

Disposed just below, and in close adhesion to the layer of material 5, is a sheet of a plasticsubstance 6, composed, for example of asphalt paper. The strata 3, 5 and 6 and their relation to each other in the completed structure, clearly appear in Fig. 2, in which the layers are shown in the order described, but with the completed structure in inverted position in a mold '7. This mold consists, by preference, of a relatively shallow pan-like structure of open-top construction and provided with side walls and a bottom which may be cast as a single piece of material. The relation of the mold to the manufacture of the product, and its association with the layers 3, 5 and 6 will appear from the ensuing description.

Each of the different layers or strata above referred to will be described in order, preceding a description of the operations incident to the manufacture of the completed product. As is known in the art, the tile units 3 are available to the trade in paper form, i. e., with their finished or wearing surface glued or otherwise adhesively secured to a flexible backing, such as a heavy paper. These papers of tile are usually of substantially rectangular form, and substantially two feetv in length and one foot in width. For reasons of convenience, therefore, the product .manufactured according to the present invention, may assume these proportions and dimensions, and the molds or steel forms, such as 7, are, by preference, made to fit closely the edges or margins of a single paper of tile and hence jof a single panel or mat of flooring constructed as herein described. As the tile is furnished to the trade, the units 3 are secured in marginally spaced relation to each other, on the paper backing, thus providing. the interstices indicated at 4 the material constituting the layer 5. This layer consists, according to present preference, of an asphalt cement as a matrix; obviously other plastic or bituminous products may be used so long as they possess equivalent or comparable physical characteristics. To produce a foundation material capable of withstanding the necessary unit loading, and yet possessing a satisfactory degree of flexibility to conform to the subjacent surface, an aggregate consisting, according to present preference, of clean sand of a size to pass a one hundred mesh screen, together with powdered lime stone of asize passing, for example, a two hundred mesh screen, may be thoroughly mixed with the matrix. A preferred practice is to heat the aggregate materials after mixing, to a temperature of approximately 450 F. Under this treatment the aggregate materials are thoroughly dried. The asphalt is heated to .at least 350 F. and While in heated condition,

the Warm aggregate materials are homogeneously mixed with the asphalt cement, resulting in a compound having the required characteristics.

The asphalt paper constituting the layer 6 appearing in Fig. 2, is available to the trade in roll or sheet form and consists, by preference, in substantial part of a compound closely resembling the material forming the vehicular portion of the layer 5. v

The finished product of the present example is formedfrom the several layers above described.

by heating each of the molds 'l, in which there has previously been disposed, in inverted position, a paper of the tile 3, with the paper portion disposed against the bottom of the mold, and the normally concealed portion of the tile uppermost in the mold. The tile are heated preferably to a temperature, say between 150 F. and 250 F., and the previously compounded asphalt mixture constituting the layer 5, is poured in place upon the layer of tile until the mold is substantially filled with the compound, existing at this stage as 'a hot liquid or semi-liquid mass, about level with the top of the form. The layer of asphalt paper 6 previously cut closely to fit the form, is laid upon the layer of compound 5 9 and pressure uniformly applied to the layer 6, and through this layer in turn to the layers 5 and 3. As a result of this pressure the asphalt compound is leveled, and the effect of the pressure and heat of the mass is closely to bind the layer 6 to the layer 5. At the same time and from the same operation, asphalt compound is forced around and between the individual units 3,thus firmly embedding and adhesively securing these units in the layer 5.

The pressure applied to the several layers of material through the paper 6 may be effected in any of the number of ways known in the art, for example in a hydraulic or screw press, or by rollers subjected to sufficient loading to accomplish the results described.

By preference, in production, a sufficient number of the molds 7 are provided, that each mold may be permitted to retain its contents for at least several hours, to permit the mass to temper or be annealed by a gradual cooling, but in no wise disturbing the completed structure until the mass is uniformly and completely restored to ambient temperature; At this stage the mold is easily separable from the completed product.

The tile mats produced by the method above described may be laid upon an ordinary floor without the use of any material for cementing them in place, since each mat will conform in a very short time, due to its flexibility and elasticity, to any ordinary irregularities in the original floor. The mats or panels may be cemented to each other between their marginal edges as they are laid in place. For cementing and forming the seams be tween adjacent mats, the same asphalt compound may be used, as described above in connection with the layer 5. Due to the use of the steel forms in molding the individual mats, the mats are uniform and the edges match without difiiculty, and so closely that the seam or junction therebetween, is unnoticeable. The present product is easily cut to fit any irregularities and may be laid quickly and neatly by anyone,not requiring skilled labor and the consequent installation expense of the tile constructions heretofore prevailing. In certain very unusual cases where the existing floor is extremely uneven, a sand cushion may be provided over the floor as a leveler.

The product resulting from the method described, combines to a degree not heretofore believed possible, the characteristics of pliability and adaptability to conform with irregularities of old flooring, without adding, to any harmful degree, to the loading of the floor; at the same time a surfacing material formed according to the present method, will withstand a large unit pressure without appreciable surface cavitation. Besides possessing a desirable combination of physical characteristics, the resulting product is acterized by marginal indentations.

serviceable, lasting, and at least equal in appearance to the prevailing type of tile floors set in place by the use of concrete.

The drawing necessarily has been confined to an illustration of a single popular'type of tile flooring, the units of which are of hexagonal outline, and for this reason each tile mat is char- It will, of course, be understood that not only tile, but any other suitable flooring or surfacing material may be processed to provide a product within the intendment of the present invention, and that for example, where the units 3 are of rectangular conformity, the margins of the mat may be rectilinear instead of serrated, as shown. 1

The present description has for the sake of a complete disclosure of a product and method fall-- ing within the scope of the present invention, described such product and method in great detail. The description is, of course, to be understood merely in an illustrative and notin a limiting sense, since a great variety of materials may be processed to form a product akin to that specifically described, and yet fallingwithin the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim as, my invention:

1. The herein described method of forming panel of a flexible surfacing material which consists in disposing preformed units of a wearing substance is spaced relation upon a support, filling the space between the wearing units, and covering one surface thereof with a premixed asphalt and mineral mixture, in heating the units and mixture, and in applying pressure to the units of wearing substance and mixture, to effect a structural union thereof.

2. The herein described method of forming a panel of a flexible composition product adapted as I a flooring, which consists in inverting pre-shaped,

pre-spaced units of a wearing material in a molding form, in heating such material and the form, and while heated, applying a heated bituminousmineral mixture as a binding and foundation material to and between the units of surfacing material and in pressing said materials into interengaging relation while both materials are heated.

3. The herein described method of forming a bitumastic composition material for use as a flooring or the like, which consists in employing a mold for the material to be formed, introducing to the mold in spaced relation, heated pre-shaped units of surfacing material, applying to the heated units of surfacing material a heated plastic bitumastic material admixed with more than its own weight of a mineralaggregate, and in apply-j ing pressure to said product and material while in the mold.

4. The herein described method of forming panels of a flexible covering for floors and the like, including a hard wearing surface,which consists in providing a metal form, the internal dimensions of which are substantially equal to the size of the panel to be formed, in inverting units of the hard surfacing material in spaced relation in the lowermost portion of the metal form, in heating the units of surfacing material, in superposing thereon in the form, a heated asphaltic mineral compound while in plastic condition, in superposing on the compound a layer of asphaliic material of sheet form, in subj ecting the layers of asphaltic material and the units of wearing material to pressure applied to said last named layer, whereby to force the asphaltic compound between and around the surfacing units, and in cooling and tempering the said materials while in the mold, removing the panel after substantial restoration to ambient temperature.

5. The herein described method of forming a flexible composition surfacing material including floor tile, which consists in employing a metal mold conforming substantially'to a desired panel size of the flooring material, in heating the mold and while heated, in inverting. the tile within the mold, and disposing them in relatively spaced relation therein, in heating the tile before introduction'to the mold, in preparing an asphaltic compound composed in greater part of mineral aggregate, and in lesser part of an asphaltic matrix, in heating said compound, and while in plastic form, superposing it on said inverted tile in the mold, so that the compound and tile substantially fill said mold, in cutting a flexible sheet of plastic substance substantially to fit within the mold, in applying the out sheet to the exposed surface of the asphaltic compound, in subjecting the contents of the mold to pressure uniformly applied thereto, and in permitting the materials to temper within the mold. 1

JAMES C. PEGRAM. 

